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Tuesday, December 20, 2011

"Lost Girl" Coming to Syfy

There are even more fairy tale based creatures coming to TV but the premise for these ones is quite different to anything we've seen yet, despite that the series has been described as a fairy tale/crime drama.

The name of the series is LostGirl and it's coming to Syfy in the US on January 16, 2012.

LostGirl caught my eye when it premiered in Canada with all the surprisingly good reviews it received - as in, the critics were surprised they liked it, as was everyone else. Initially, the series hit my radar because of the urban fantasy connection (a genre I read and write a lot of) but it took very little digging to uncover the fairy tale connection.

Ready for the premise? (Note: If you find yourself rolling your eyes at it, keep reading as I know exactly how you feel!)

Raised by human parents, Bo had no reason to believe she was anything other than the girl next door -- until she "drained" her first boyfriend to death. She then discovers she is one of the Fae, creatures of legend and folklore, who pass as humans while feeding off them in secret, as they have for millennia. Bo herself is a Succubus, a supernatural seductress who feeds off sexual energy. She is faced with choosing an allegiance between the Dark or Light Fae clans. Bo decides to take the middle path between humans and the Fae while embarking on a personal mission to unlock the secrets of her origin, protecting humans along the way.

I must admit, when I first read the premise I rolled my eyes. Despite the fact I read a lot of urban fantasy I'm picky about anything to do with Fae or faeries and anything to do with succubi I tend to gloss over. What made me look twice in this case though, was a girl who was fighting her heritage, not wanting to lose her humanness, even as she learns to use her very non-human powers for good.

While I'm not really interested in Succubi (or Incubi) I am fascinated by Rusalki, fox women and La Belle Dame Sans Merci, something which, from the extended descriptions, this character has a lot in common with. But there's even more fairy tale connection than that. You can already tell LostGirl has a lot of "dark fae" in the mythology/world so we can expect lots of mythological creatures (expect sirens, wolf-people and banshees among others) but there's also Morrigan ('The" Morrigan, if I understand correctly) who is described as the leader of the Dark Fae, while Baba Yaga makes an appearance in a second season episode title Mirror, Mirror. This episode is described as not only being quite true to the fairy tale character of Baba Yaga but also has different fairy tale elements to it (eg Snow White, Hansel & Gretel) as well. If you want more details, but with spoilers, you can read this blog entry HERE.

The folklore creature aspect is going to be a lot of fun. They even have a glossary ready to go (A-Z!) with this description:

The Fae represent the reality behind many of the myths and the folklore of global cultures including Irish, Native American, African and Chinese. Read on to discover a lineup of legendary creatures you'll be meeting during Bo's adventures in the world of the Fae.

Click to read the "FaeQ" HERE. (Seriously - don't you want to give the series a chance just because of this? FAQ/FAeQ - heh.)

I have a feeling the creators were trying to tap into the vampire trend (as you may be able to tell from the Showcase promo posters - sheesh!) and catch some of those viewers and fans but it turns out they were also tapping into the current fairy tale zeitgeist (gotta love that word!) that is all the rage at present. It's likely to interest fans of Buffy, Angel & Underworld with the paranormal PI angle too.

The first two seasons have already aired in Canada, garnering excellent reviews and a solid fan base and should make a good fit for US viewers whose current post-vampire-shifting-to-reworked/darker-fairy-tales focus is still building momentum.

I'm hoping it lives up to the reviews and delivers a layered urban fantasy rich with folklore and fae that isn't cheesy. I guess we'll find out in January!

You can read more info on the series and the characters (with pictures) HERE and the Syfy home page for Lost Girl is HERE.